This invention relates to door assemblies for automotive vehicle bodies and more particularly to vehicle doors of plastic material which are light in weight incorporating manually operable window regulator mechanisms.
Conventional vehicle doors have been generally constructed on an element by element basis requiring a sequence of operations during an assembly line process. The main door unit usually comprises a thin metal stamping forming an inner panel while an outer panel is hemmed around the marginal edges of the inner panel. The automotive industry is continually trying to design light weight door structures that provide high volume economic production together with good stiffness-to-weight ratios. In the case of light weight utility vehicles, an important feature in reducing door weight involves the use of manually operable widow regulator arrangements without counterbalancing hardware.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,115 issued May 5, 1987, to Ohya is an example of a vehicle door structure comprising an outer panel of synthetic resin and an inner panel of steel plate. In the Ohya patent, a door hinge and a door lock device are mounted on the steel inner panel.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,264,032 issued Aug. 2, 1966, to R. P. Smith discloses a manually operable spring loaded detent vehicle window regulator. A handle controls the detent allowing it to engage any one of a series of ratchet teeth carried on a guide member to hold a vehicle window at a selected elevated position. The weight of the window is manually supported by the operating handle during raising and lowering movements of the window.